The Guest
by AevumAce
Summary: Seven years after graduation, there was a knock on the door interrupting Diana's sleep. She's surprised to find a young girl all dressed in black looking up at her like she was the light. Dianakko Week 2019


**A/N: Okay, so there was this vampire girl on the concept art for the first OVA that was scraped out and then I wondered, what if her character was more complex than that? Here's the result!**

Day 1: Soulmates/Star-Crossed Lovers

Diana Cavendish was far away from home. It has been seven years since she and her friends graduated from Luna Nova. She was far out in Eastern Europe, studying the old magic that resided within the hallowed grounds for nearly centuries.

"You lost, kid?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, I'm not a kid! It's me, Akko! I've arrived a couple of hours ago, but I'll be leaving the city again in an hour so I decided to drop by to at least see how you're doing."

"Akko?" Diana blinked, figuring it was the lack of sleep that made her think that her high school friend hadn't grown any older. But no, Akko was still the same as she was during their senior year. Probably because she had unlocked the best of her genes to retain neoteny while Diana aged. "You… you left without a word after graduation. You made me worry when you didn't keep in touch as you said."

"Really?" she asked with a smile, but her voice had a hint of sadness.

Diana pursed her lips into a smile as she gently nodded while looking deep into her red eyes. She noticed how Akko's old sun-kissed skin had turned lighter, making Diana wonder if Akko had fallen trap to the new Korean beauty regime.

"I'm sorry about that." Akko let out a tongue at her. "A lot of unexpected things happened back then. Plans change all the time." She then cast her gaze downward as if her hands turned clammy. "Say, can you come with me to the swimming lake for a while? I haven't seen one for ages, especially the beach, but since there's nothing that near, I guess that will do."

"Sure, but I need my morning tea," Diana replied casually. She had no prior plans or meetings for today so she couldn't see why not. "How did you find me anyway? The others even hadn't heard of you too."

Akko's lips tugged into a smile. "Once I had contacted Amanda and Hannah, they yelled at me plenty before they finally gave me your whereabouts."

Diana smirked. "Rest assured I won't give you the same treatment."

With a steamed cup in hand, Diana abruptly took a coat from behind the door and closed it behind her. They chatted animatedly about their old memories as they made their way to the lake.

Diana told her about what she had been up to all those years they hadn't seen each other. She had attended Luna Nova again for her graduate and post-graduate degrees, and now she was taking double majors in political science and medicine from non-magical schools. Meanwhile, Akko hadn't been to college. She took the path where she had to work her way up in the magic entertainment, while occasionally dabbling in storytelling,

The lake was flooded with light from the nearby streetlights and quietly sat down on the sand as Akko took out a small notebook from inside her cloak's pocket.

"Here," she handed her a sample of her work. "This is the best work I have so far, I want you to tell me what you think."

Diana arched a fine brow in surprise, she hadn't exactly imagined that Akko would have a different hobby than obsessing over magic and Chariot, but she thought that this should be a good thing. "Alright," she replied as she began to read it.

* * *

_**I was**_ singing to myself as I carefully made my way home down a dimly lit street. Unaware that out in the shadows, a girl with chin-length hair and neatly clad in a long black cloak had been following me.

I noticed her when she appeared before me, causing me to abruptly stop and stare blankly at the girl. We stood still, about 10 feet apart, anticipating the other's next move.

At half-past eleven, the street was completely deserted except for the two strangers.

A chilly evening breeze blew on the girl's face, revealing a deathly pale skin and a face of stately repose that had lain hidden beneath her dark hair.

Sensing danger, I knew I was defenseless. I didn't dare move an inch, internally berating myself for forgetting to bring anything that could help me in situations like this. Retrieving my phone from my bag to alert her friends and parents, the girl suddenly writhed in an uncontrollable fit and fell on the ground.

I was a mere girl who was infatuated with another, and my crush would talk about health oftentimes. Because of that, I knew what an epileptic seizure was. I might not know what triggered it, but I knew she had to loosen any tight clothing around the patient's neck. Sprinting towards the girl, and made sure her airway wasn't blocked, I was about to call for help when she grasped my hand, preventing me.

Then, she stopped as if her seizure healed. When I slowly looked down on her eyes and saw that my reflection was upside-down, I panicked but remained petrified. The fierceness in her enigmatic eyes sent chills down my spine, telling me there was no stopping her from getting whatever she wanted.

"Y-you're a… a…"

The word died on my lips, as the assailant gripped on me. All I knew was that bloodshot eyes and massive fangs sunk deep into my side to devour my entrails, draining the life out of me. It caused a series of flashbacks to play before my eyes, unbridled emotions and memories coursing through. Stories my friend would often tell me when during horror stories at the dormitory room. Stories about dark creatures told within generations that I callously discarded as mere fiction.

"Why?" I muttered under my last breath as total darkness settled in on me.

When I came to be, my every muscle felt so weak to move at all and when I opened my heavy eyes, I found myself lying in the most exquisite bed in the most spacious bedroom I had ever been into.

I jolted upwards, aghast at all that I saw. Then I placed my hands around my stomach, searching for the fatal wounds I thought I had but found none.

Just then, the wooden door opened wide and in went the last person I saw before I fell in a long, deep sleep. Hunger clawed within the depths of my stomach. My thoughts were spinning fast in my head but I needed an explanation for everything.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"I thought you didn't wish to die," she replied. "I heard your thoughts."

"Oh, so you generously wanted to let me live as you munched through me?"

Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed. "Anyway, I think you already know what I am and what you are now. You are not allowed to go anywhere near your loved ones, anything relating to your past. Protect your identity if you don't want to be hunted down."

"No, no! I'll ask for help from my family. Even my friends! They are witches! They will help me!"

"What do you think they can do to help you? Your family will call religious orders and pray the problem away, and the witches scorn down upon us. They see us as blight. Dark creatures, they cannot trust. They will let you starve and hide you from the rest of the world. You'll have no freedom."

"Why? Do you even think that being a monster is freedom?" I scoffed, running my fingers through my hair. "It was you, wasn't it? Is it not your fault, I became like this?"

A sudden span of bat-like wings erupted from her back shoulders. It occurred to me that she was making herself bigger to assert dominance. "You can't blame me for being like this."

"Yes, yes I can! Do you think I would have been grateful to you? Because…because you spared my life?"

"You'll still get to live, you know. We're in no means, immortal, but we age slowly. We can still go in the sun. At night, we will look more ghoulish, and in the day we will transform as soon as the sun comes up. So you best transform privately. We can still eat, sleep, and cry, all those human emotions and human experiences. The only difference is—"

"We're damned!"

"Well of course. That means you have to stray off some salt, garlic, and holy relics. And that includes bathing in seas and reciting any religious hymns and prayers."

"That sounds like the very definition of a monster."

"That's what they tell people anyway," she rolled her eyes. "But what is truly a monster? The definition is subjective. I believe we're not. We're merely misunderstood. Now enough about this, young one, you'll find clothes in the closet. Change into something like mine. Blend into the shadows. It's cold outside. I'll be waiting downstairs. It's time I teach you how to hunt."

She walked out with inaudible footfalls and closed the door behind her.

Crestfallen, I slowly sunk among the pillows and rested my back flat, watching the empty ceiling before my teary eyes, closing them tight to hold back the tears.

I was no longer human. I was an abomination, a forsaken.

A ghoul.

A creature that acts like a normal human by day and becomes starving monsters who crave human flesh by night.

As far as I knew, there wasn't any known cure for that disease. No magic has been found to cure ghoulism.

A strangled cry wormed its way out my throat. I still had dreams to fulfill, a family to take care of. A girl I was going to confess my feelings to and hopefully have a relationship and build a future with. I had a whole life ahead of me. All of it was gone to waste. This mysterious girl took it from me. Everything has changed because of that one fateful night.

When I opened my eyes, I hadn't known I fell asleep. A delicious smell wafted through my nose. It smelled a lot like my mother's cooking, or rather it smelled better than the delicious wagyu beef my grandmother was proud of.

That was when I found a plate of unsalted and uncooked meat with a piece of paper that had my name on it, just sitting on the bedside table. Disgust and self-loathing seated in my heart. I couldn't believe I thought the human flesh was mouth-watering.

But despite fighting my new instincts, I emptied the plate of its content in a flash.

I couldn't help but feel shame and guilt when I remembered where the meat came from. Now that my hunger had been satiated, my senses getting more perceptive and my body stronger like I was ready to take on the world. I had no greater desire but to vomit it all out. But still, no matter how much I tried to heave it out, my body wanted its nourishment. It stayed inside my stomach.

Four years later, I became successful. I had performed live in local gazebos, local events, and even stadiums. With my style that stood out from everyone else, impressively powerful voice, athletic body, enthusiastic personality, and somehow, appearing all wrapped up. It all had equally helped me attract more and more audience with each night's performance.

The girl who turned me would watch me from the shadows like she was afraid that something bad might go wrong. Either I will turn berserk or the people around me will learn my dark secret. She didn't need to look after me, but she did.

I would have to scour for my victims from the neighboring city to revert any suspicions on myself. I had been living peacefully, hiding in the shadows, and some would say in plain sight. But I wasn't living. Just a shell of what I once was.

Years went by and one a particular serene April night, I asked the girl who turned me something she was not expecting to hear.

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because wandering the earth like this is tiring."

"It could be. But then again, some ghouls hope to find their soulmate and turn them so they could together forever."

"Isn't that selfish?" I asked. "Why would you want to condemn your beloved to a life you hate yourself?"

"It would be ideal if the other person wants to spend the rest of eternity with you too. To find a soulmate is special. It's probably the only hope our kind holds onto. I have lived for exactly a thousand and one years; I have yet to find my beloved. It is only eternal punishment if you will it to be."

"Don't you ever think about dying at all?"

There was a beat before she replied. "Are you considering?"

"I might," I clasped my hands behind me. "It depends."

"If you desire to die, you should have thought so before I turned you."

I pouted. "Please don't turn this into a lecture."

"I will do so as damn as I please. You desired to live years ago. Why must you lose hope now?"

I took in a deep painful breath. "It's because of her."

"Her?"

I couldn't tell how she reacted to what I said, as the world blurred into thousands of cracked pieces through my tears. "It has been years since I last saw her," I admitted. "She's probably angry at me, probably moved on with another. When I think about it, my heart aches so much that I cannot bear the thought of being this sorrow for centuries to come."

"This is the eternal punishment, correct, but as I said before. It will only be eternal punishment if you see it this way. You are making yourself suffer for having this 'star-crossed lovers' mentality."

Looking up to search her face, I asked. "What do you think about dying next to the person you love most? Wouldn't that make you happy?"

"Is it the happiest death you can think of?"

I gave her a lopsided smile as I began to skip ahead. "If that person's heart belongs to another then yes, that's the happiest death to me."

"Going somewhere, aren't you?" She asked, looking straight ahead.

"I want to find that person tonight."

There was another beat. The silence stretched between them until she finally broke it. "If there's no stopping you."

"I'd be happier if you start to believe again before it's down to the end. I'm grateful for all you've done for me and bringing you back to the light away from the gloom and sadness is the greatest thing I could do to repay you."

Tears started to stream down my cold cheeks once more.

"Cry no more," she replied. "For centuries I've been watching generations pass me by alone, I have killed hundreds, for sure, maybe even thousands, wishing I'll find someone I could call family, someone to share eternity with. I know it's hard to find your soul mate so I guess I'm being too selfish when I turned you. I'll have you for a company without considering your plans for yourself. But now at least I can vividly see that you're no longer that helpless child. Nevertheless, I'm glad you've grown in that aspect, even gladder that you know exactly what will give you contentment to your life and gladdest that we are parting on good terms. Still, I'm wondering how you could perceive good of me after treating you with indifference. You thought you can change people just by showing them you believe that they still got a heart and that they cannot harm you after all the evil things they may do. You never backed off that night when I faked epilepsy to lull you in, and when I gave you the dark gift, I thought you were just being stupid, trying to plead your way out. I never thought you could pierce into me."

I giggled. "I have been known to sway the people around me."

She gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead and gave me the first smile she ever wore in her face, which added more to her strikingly beauteous features."

"I think you better go. You've still got a long way ahead."

"I know, goodbye my dear friend." With a heavy heart, I sped to catch up with the last train to sit on its rear end and watched the place I called home for years growing smaller and less distinct.

A few phone calls later and a connecting flight, it was already half past four in the morning in the new country when I arrived at my destination. The thought of just sitting outside her door and listen to her breathing occurred to me but then I couldn't wait any longer to finally see her on her 25th birthday while she stayed 18 and I would forever remain 18. I knocked on the door and felt my stomach lurching.

* * *

_**"Akko, are**_ you sure you have handed me all the pages comprising this story? Because I think the end part's missing." Diana asked after reading the last page.

"Is that so?" Akko arched an eyebrow. "Then I guess you'll have to help me write the ending to it."

"What? But I'm not into writing like you are!"

"You just have to put into words the things you see and perceive relative to what happens in your story."

"Nope, it shall never happen. You can't make me write."

"Even if it's the last thing I ask from you? Who knows if we'd still meet after we part?"

Akko's words and tone made her stomach lurch.

"Why do you have to go anyway?" Diana asked.

"You'll find out," she said with a grin. "It all depends. For now, let me just sit here until the sun appears on the horizon."

Diana couldn't help but smile at her odd behavior.

"Diana?"

"Hmm?" she replied while staring at the sky constantly growing brighter before them.

"Can I at least hold your hand?"

"Sure," Diana said without any question as she held out one hand to touch hers.

"Thanks for joining me here right now… You've just made me so happy. I'm sure I'll be just… just fine." Akko said, her lips tugging into an assuring smile.

Just then, the sun had already burst into the horizon, and Diana saw how Akko's eyes narrowed into slits and turned red as it adjusted to the new sunlight, and her fair skin glamour by the darkness, had now shown all its flaws. Akko was unnaturally pale skin, razor-sharp teeth peeked through her lips, and she looked like death. Then she flinched. Akko turned away for a while, her whole body shuddered.

"Akko?" Diana gasped. "Are you okay?" she placed a hand on her shoulder before slapping the hand away.

Her whole appearance changed. She looked quite normal again, but something was unnerving at the whole sight.

Diana slowly approached the poor girl, looking into her deep red eyes. She let out a gasp as the reflection that stared back to her was upside down. Her throat constricted as a wave of reality swept over her.

"What the—" Diana leaped on her feet. "You're a ghoul! Why didn't you just tell me? Why go all that trouble?"

"Because that's the only way I know you'll listen to my bizarre story and understand me."

"Oh Akko, you stupid, stupid girl. You could have gone to me all those years before. I could have helped you."

"Would you? Won't you turn me away? I've seen how ghouls are treated. We've had lessons on them too."

"Did you truly believe that I would turn you away? You and I saved the world together. I thought our relationship was more than that."

"I love you, Diana. I'm sorry it took me a dozen years. Would you still love me even if I'm cursed?"

"Professor Croix managed to find a cure to Wagandea, Akko." She placed a hand on Akko's knee and rubbed them. "What makes you think I couldn't save you?"

Akko's heart soared and wrapped her arms around her. Diana wrapped hers around her as well and held her as Akko hugged her.

"I love you too, Akko. I have always loved you."

Akko continued to hug her for a while and then finally she released her. Her smile was beaming with her unique happiness, the kind of happiness that comes from being separated from her love, fearing she will be rejected because of her curse and become reunited again, only for her love to accept whatever she was.

Together they discovered compatibility that neither of them could have guessed. To put it simply, they complete each other. They are, in the truest sense of the word, soulmates.


End file.
